Celtics newcomer Aron Baynes provides physical presence

Sunday

Oct 8, 2017 at 5:36 PMOct 8, 2017 at 5:41 PM

Jim Fenton The Enterprise @JFenton_ent

WALTHAM – When his college basketball career ended in 2009, Aron Baynes knew he wasn’t ready to play in the NBA.“I wasn’t where I needed to be coming out of college,’’ said Baynes, who played four years at Washington State after arriving from Australia. “I had a lot of stuff to work on.’’

That work was done overseas. Baynes played in Lithuania, Germany, Greece and Slovenia, picking up valuable experience while learning about the game at the professional level.

In January 2013 while in Slovenia, the 6-foot-10 Baynes received an offer from the San Antonio Spurs and headed back to the United States to begin his NBA career at the age of 27.

Baynes, who was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, took a non-traditional path in his basketball life, and the latest stop is with the Celtics after signing as a free agent during the summer.

He will be part of coach Brad Stevens’ rotation, asked to provide an inside presence either as a starter (depending on matchups) or a reserve.

It is a long way from where Baynes was coming out of Washington State eight years ago, and the time spent in Europe helped make it happen.

“Europe gave me the opportunity to (learn),’’ said Baynes following practice Sunday afternoon. “I was playing too much of a slow game in college. We had the 35-second shot clock and the style of play we were in, we used every second of it.

“In Europe, I worked on my body a lot. That was one of the big changes for me from college, trying to get my body in the right shape to be able to get up and down the court with the 24-second clock.

“I also expanded my game offensively and defensively. A lot of it was playing against good competition. We spent six hours on court every day and I started feeling more comfortable offensively.’’

Baynes was a backup with the Spurs and was part of the 2014 championship team, learning from coach Gregg Popovich and future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan.

“It was one of the best places for me to learn,’’ said Baynes. “I just tried to soak up as much as I could. I was under the tutelage of one of the best coaches who ever coached in Pop and was around one of the best players in Tim Duncan and Tony (Parker) and Manu (Ginobili).

“I tried to learn how these guys do it and why they do it so well and what can I do to contribute to it.’’

After being in San Antonio for three seasons, Baynes spent the past two years with the Detroit Pistons before joining the Celtics this summer.

He was a fan favorite in the preseason opener thanks to an aggressive style against Dwight Howard.

“He plays extremely hard. He’s a star in his role,’’ said Gordon Hayward. “He’s going to set screens, he’s going to rebound, take charges, give up his body for you and he does that extremely well.’’

Baynes, who will be back on the TD Garden floor tonight when the Celtics face the Philadelphia 76ers, has averaged 11 points on 8 for 13 shooting and five rebounds.

Stevens knew he was getting a physical player who likes to play tough defense, but the offensive part of Baynes’ game has been a surprise.

“His shooting in every drill work, in any one-on-one work has been consistently good every single day,’’ said Stevens. “I’m not sure how good (his shot) was from 15 to 17 feet until being around him.

“He’s been a great rim protector. He’s obviously a big body in the paint. He brings a physical presence that I think is going to be important for our team.’’

Baynes knows the Celtics won’t be relying too heavily on him for points and that his biggest impact will be on the boards and on defense.

Judging by the reaction of the crowd to him at the preseason opener last week, Baynes should be a hit in Boston.

“Hopefully, I’ll bring what they want,’’ he said. “I’m trying to go out there and do what’s best for the team and if that’s also what the people like I’ll be thankful for that.

“I’ll put it on the line every time my number’s called, as does everyone on this team.’’

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